The Bright Ideas eCommerce Podcast | Proven Entrepreneur Success Stories

Are you looking for a new product idea? Do you already have an idea that you'd like to bring to market? Do you love hearing inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs?  On the show with me today is Chris Meade; Co-founder of Crossnet - a company that is revolutionizing the sport of volleyball with their new 4-way volleyball net. To see if this interview is for you,  I recommend that you read the list of questions below to get a quick overview of the questions that I asked Chris during our conversation. When you do, I think you'll quickly see that this episode is jam-packed with knowledge-bombs for bringing a new idea to market and rapidly scaling a company. Watch the video above, read the transcript, or listen to the audio file below and benefit from the knowledge that Chris shares...and then leave a comment or question for him to answer. Questions I Asked Chris: [01:49] What does your company sell? [02:30] What made you pick the niche you are in, and how did you research it?  [03:57] Did you do any market testing before going into production? [04:55] How is your product sourced/made? [06:27] What do your gross margins look like? [07:03] Have you been able to improve your gross margin over time? If so, how? [08:16] What software do you use for the store? [08:22] What are some of your favorite store apps? [08:58] What software do you use for email marketing? [10:24] Where are you getting all the website traffic from [10:44] Does word of mouth contribute to sales? [11:15] Tell me about your advertising [12:26] How did you get into the school catalogs [12:56] How did you manage all the LinkedIn outreach? [14:10] How are you automating email outreach [14:50] What are some of the areas that your using VAs [15:50] What is your YOY growth rate? [16:50] How did you make the company grow so fast? [17:40] Who is your target customer? [18:30] What percentage of your sales are online vs off? [19:10] How did you learn that moms were your buyer? [19:34] What percentage of sales are coming from cold traffic ads vs retargeting? [20:11] What is your CAC? [20:52] How did you find the agency you are working with? [21:08] Are you in any mastermind groups? [22:11] Are you on Amazon? How? [23:00] How did you find your amazon seller? [25:50] What percentage of your sales are on Amazon? [26:57] How big is the team at this point? [27:10] What types of things do you use freelancers for? [28:15] Tell me about the systems that you are developing? [31:15] What are some of your plans for 2020? [33:07] How are you raising cash for inventory? [36:30] Are you ever going to take investors? Resources Links can be found at https://brightideas.co/chris-meade-interview/

Is your company not growing as fast as you'd like? Are you struggling to create profitable ad campaigns on social media? Would you like to tap into the brain of a proven expert? On the show with me today is Erin Corn, founder of Shorebird Media. Prior to launching her agency, Erin worked for Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon; the ultimate trifecta for online advertising and commerce. Watch the video above, read the transcript, or listen to the audio file below and benefit from the knowledge that Erin shares...and then leave a comment or question for her to answer. Questions I Asked Erin: [02:11] Who are you and what do you do? [03:13] Tell me about an incredible result that your expertise played a role in achieving? (Dudley Stevens - seeing 30-50% ROAS) [04:30] What was the first step you took to create this result? [07:58] Tell me about the retargeting campaigns you created for them? [13:48] Tell me about your use of dynamic ads? [14:25] What is an Instagram collection? [15:41] Do you use FB Ads Manager? [17:31] Tell me about your cold traffic campaigns? [17:50] Did you use interest targeting? [19:36] How did you build out the personas you tested? [21:52] Tell me about exclusions from your campaigns? [22:14] How did you uncover the language the their target market uses? (Understand which organic content got the most traction) [25:00] Tell me about how you create and manage split tests (test headlines first) [26:38] How many ads should be in a ad set? [27:45] How long did it take the campaign to break even? [33:46] How did you scale up ad spend without breaking the campaigns? [38:57] How does a brand find the right agency to work with? [41:11] How should a brand expect to compensate an agency? Resources links can be found at https://brightideas.co/298

Are you planning to launch your own brand of products to sell on Amazon? Do you already source products from China and looking for proven methods to improve your sourcing efforts? Would you like to better understand how to become a master product sourcing professional? On the show with me today is David Hoffman; CEO of international trade powerhouse Global Regency (shipping products over $200m to over 40 countries).  If you read the list of questions below to get a quick overview of the questions that I asked David during this interview, and you will quickly see that this episode is jam-packed with knowledge bombs for sourcing products from China.  Watch the video above, read the transcript, or listen to the audio file below and benefit from the knowledge that David share...and then leave a comment or question for him to answer. Questions I Asked David: [01:07] Who are you and what do you do? [02:06] What are some of the biggest mistakes you see people making? [03:05] Is Alibaba the way to go? [04:24] Should someone work with a buyer's agent? [06:51] How should buyers plan and execute a trip to China? [09:54] How often are their trade shows [10:50] How do you determine if you are dealing with a manufacturer or a trading company and why should you care? [12:50] What is the best way to find trade shows to attend? [14:30] What are the most important things to do prior to attending? [17:20] Are there some clever ways to make a good first impression when talking to vendors? [19:30] What are some of the important things the new buyers might forget to ask? [20:18] Why is product compliance so important? [21:50] What type of follow up do you suggest after the show? [24:00] Tell me about some best practices for ordering samples [25:40] Do you have an SOPs for the sampling process? [28:00] So how do people work with your company as their team on the ground in China? Resources links can be found at https://brightideas.co/david-hoffman-interview/

Are you struggling to grow your small business as fast as you'd hoped? Do you feel that you are working too hard; yet still not getting the results you need? If you answered yes to either question, this podcast episode is for you. On the show with me today is Ben Fewtrell; creator of the Business Acceleration Blueprint. As the founder of several startups, Ben knows a thing or two about getting a business off the ground, and his programs have helped many business owners to build the business they imagined.  During today's interview, I asked Ben to walk us through the blueprint, step by step. If you are struggling get the results you deserve, this interview is for you. Questions I Asked Ben: [01:44] What is this Business Acceleration Blueprint? (5 stages and 5 critical areas per stage) [02:43] What are the five steps of the BAB? [06:10] Tell me more about the foundation phase. [15:45] Tell me more about the KPIs that make up your foundation. [19:50] Tell me about the issue of time management. [21:50] How do you suggest people figure out what activities they should delegate? [24:20] How important is it to have documented systems for your various activities? [26:30] Tell me about the growth phase (lead gen, CRO, AOV, LTV) [27:54] Which of these four is the one to focus on first? [31:45] Can you share some examples to underscore the importance of what we have discussed so far. Resources links can be found at https://brightideas.co/ben-fewtrell-interview/

On the show with me today is Stephan Aarstol; founder of Tower Paddle Boards and a number of other direct to consumer brands. Back in 2010, Stephan was barely 6 months into his venture when he received a call from a TV producer for a show he'd never heard of. It was called Shark Tank - and it changed Stephan's life. After hearing Stephan's pitch, Mark Cuban decided to invest $150K in Mark's company, and that company wen on to become one of the biggest success stories in Shark Tank history. Since then, Mark has been a partner in virtually every business Stephan has started. In Stephan and I's conversation, we talked about what it was like to start a company in a highly competitive market, what it was like to work with Mark Cuban, and why he eventually implemented (and wrote a book about) the 5 hour work day in that company. If you are an entrepreneur looking for ways to make your company stand out, this episode is for you. Questions I Asked Stephan: [02:20] How did you come up with the idea for Tower Paddle Boards? [03:19] Did you know anything about making paddle boards? [05:44] How long had inflatable paddle boards been around when you launched? [06:44] How did the level of competition back then compare to now? [10:16] Why did you feel that you could be successful entering this market? [11:30] How long did it take to get the first $100K in revenue? [12:15] How did Shark Tank play a role? [14:35] What was it about your pitch that appealed to Mark [19:18] What was it like working with Mark as an investor? [22:44] Of all the things you've learned from Mark, what was his greatest lesson? [26:41] When and why did you decide to convert to a 5 hour workday? [29:31] Why did you choose to make this shift to a 5 hour work day? [32:24] Tell me about some of the productivity hacks that your team discovered?  [33:45] Why did you shift to 5 hours days in the summer only? [34:20] What was the impact on recruitment and retention? [35:30] How has it evolved since and why? [36:51] What advice would you give to others thinking of trying it out? [39:10] What is your best advice for today's entrepreneurs interested in building a direct to consumer company? Resources link can be found http://brightideas.co/stephan-aarstol-interview/

If you are building a business to sell, having an exit plan should be a critical component of your overall strategy, and depending on the kind of business you are building, deciding whether to hire a business broker or an M&A advisor could make the difference between getting a few hundred thousand (or million?) dollars extra or not. There are significant differences between a typical business broker and an M&A advisor, and in today's episode, I'm joined by Chris Shipferling and Jason Sommerville; two of the partners at an M&A advisory firm that specializes in selling digitally-based businesses.  In our discussion, we talk through the differences between the services one can expect from a typical business broker, and that of a firm like theirs, and, as you will hear when you listen, the differences could results in a significant difference in the value of your company when you sell. Questions I Asked Chris: [04:10] What is the difference between a business broker and an M&A advisor? [06:30] What is the difference between a financial buyers and a strategic buyer? [11:00] What market segment do you deal with? [13:25] What is the minimum size of a company that you generally work with and why? [14:50] How does your view of exit valuation compare to that of a business broker? [18:50] How does the background of an M&A advisor generally differ from that of a business broker, and why should the seller of a sub $3M business care? [22:39] How do the fees differ between working with an M&A advisor and a business broker? [25:23] What is your process vs a broker process to sell a business? [28:38] Who defines the portion of the deal book that speaks to opportunities for growth? [34:00] How does your buyer network differ from that of a business broker? Resource links can be found at https://brightideas.co/chris-shipferling-interview/

Have you ever thought about expanding your online sales to international markets but have hesitated to do so because you thought the process would be overly complex, time consuming, and expensive? In today's episode, my guest is Kevin Sanderson; owner of a private label brand that generates about $400K per year while selling in a total of 9 markets around the world. When you listen to today's interview, you are going to hear Kevin explain how to expand internationally, and you are going to discover that it is a lot less complex than you might think. In Kevin's case, international sales have added 30% to his revenue and have been a valuable addition to his business.  Questions I Asked Kevin: [02:40] Who are you and what do you do? [03:50] Is it worth the investment of time to sell internationally on Amazon? [05:04] Is it difficult selling internationally? [06:25] How should someone get started selling internationally? [10:11] Which warehouses do you send your product to? [11:25] How does someone manage the foreign currency? [14:30] Why shouldn't use pay for PPC in a foreign market with a credit card [15:14] How will this affect someone’s taxes? [16:50] How does all of this differ from selling in the EU [18:22] Where are you responsible for VAT? [22:40] When it comes to VAT, what are the compliance issues a seller is responsible for? [23:47] What is the flat rate scheme? [25:00] How do you deal with language translations on your listings? [27:50] What haven't I asked you? [32:00] Do you have a freebie for my audience? Resource links can be found at https://brightideas.co/kevin-sanderson-interview/

When you decide to start selling on Amazon; especially if you are a wholesale seller, one of the very first decisions you are going to have to make once you land your first account is how you are going to handle product prep.  Should you do it yourself or work with a 3PL? In today's episode, my guest Taylor Smits shares with me how a seller should find, and then evaluate a 3PL company so that they can make the most informed decision possible on the best route to take. Questions I Asked Taylor: 1:30 Who are you and what do you do? 3:20 One of the very first questions I get from new sellers is, "do I need a warehouse" and I generally tell them that they would be better off using a 3PL? 7:18 How does the new seller find them? 9:34 What questions should they ask? 13:06 What are the services that one should expect? 17:56 How will the 3PL communicate with the seller and what types of systems should the seller expect the 3PL to have to accomplish this? 22:34 How do 3PLs normally charge sellers? 24:20 What are some of the ways that sellers get screwed by 3PLs? 29:21 What are some of the ways that a prep center can add value to a seller in ways that they might not have expected? 32:48 Who are you good for, and who shouldn't work with you? 35:30 Do you have an offer for my listeners? Resources links can be found at http://brightideas.co/291

Looking for more information on content marketing and SEO for eCommerce websites? Want to discover proven strategies to help your store generate more organic traffic? In today's episode my guest is Dave Chaffey, co-founder and Content Director of Smart Insights; a very popular site that provides education and information for digital marketing professionals.  Since founding my software company, I have become increasingly interested in SEO and so far the results that we have been able to produce have been very promising.  In my conversation with Dave about content marketing, we talked specifically about some of the ways that eCommerce websites can use it to generate more organic traffic - that will ultimately lead to increased conversions and revenue.  If content marketing and SEO is on your radar screen, you are going to love today's interview. Questions I Asked Dave: [01:06] What does your company do? [02:20] When did you start the company? [03:09] What is your YOY growth rate? [04:42] Who is your target customer? [07:33] How are you segmenting your visitors on your email list? [10:20] What have been the drivers of growth? (Content Marketing, SEO, CRO, and Email) [12:17] Tell me about why and how you focus on conversion rate optimization [13:40] Tell me about one of your CRO tests [16:00] Tell me about how you are using email [17:00] How often do you send your newsletter? [18:50] Why do you send twice a week? [20:04] How much of your content is curated vs original? [20:29] Tell me about how you are using curated content? [21:55] Are you making use of humor in your emails? [24:50] Tell me about your SEO strategy [25:30] Tell me about the keyword list you advise your clients to develop? [28:05] What is your favorite keyword research tool [29:32] When and why do you use the Google Search Console [31:32] How often do you republish older posts? [35:18] Tell me about your link building strategy? [36:14] Tell me about your proactive link building strategy? [37:15] Tell me about how you are involving influencers into the creation of your posts [38:15] Tell me about your content promotion strategies [39:21] Tell me about your guest posting strategy? [41:36] What is your CAC? [43:21] Tell me about the point at which you wanted to hire your first employee for content production? [45:10] Tell me how you used the content editor when you first hired them [46:50] Have you ever made use of contract writers? [48:10] Tell me about some of the systems and processes that you used to manage your content marketing [50:50] What haven’t I asked you about that I should have? [53:00] How much of your use of Intercom can be automated Resource Links: https://www.smartinsights.com https://in.flowster.app/marketplace https://optinmonster.com http://ahrefs.com https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/historical-blog-seo-conversion-optimization https://www.buzzstream.com https://www.intercom.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/davechaffey/ http://smartinsights.com/membership/toolkits-overview http://avechaffey.com/digital-marketing-glossary/race-marketing-planning-model https://www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/ecommerce-analytics/ecommerce-conversion-rates/ Show Notes: https://brightideas.co/dave-chaffey-interview/

When it comes to product research for eCommerce, most entrepreneurs invest a significant amount of time, money, and effort - all in the hopes that they get it just right and their product is a runaway success. Sadly, for many entrepreneurs, an outcome like this is often the exception and not the rule. As a result, these would-be eCommerce business owners, end up wasting months of time, losing thousands of dollars, and often giving up entirely. What if there was a better way? What if you needed to only spend $1,000 and invest a few days to know if your product idea was going to fly? Well...I have good news! Such a way does in fact exist. In today's episode my guest, Colin McIntosh, founder & CEO of Sheets & Giggles - one of the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer bedding brands in the US. In this episode, Colin shares with us exactly how he was able to quickly and inexpensively validate his product idea in less than a week. Furthermore, you'll also hear Colin break down the exact steps that he took to raise $300,000 for his new company via Indiegogo.  After having interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs over the years, it is rare that your humble host is really blown away by the raw smarts of a guest. Today is one of those epic days, and my interview with Colin is nothing short of a Masterclass in product research for eCommerce entrepreneurs. Don't miss it! The questions I Asked Colin: Company Overview 3:30 What does your company sell? 5:37 What made you pick the niche you are in, and how did you research it? 8:35 Tell me about the landing page you created 11:46 How did you do the targeting on Facebook 13:00 How many emails did you capture? 13:20 What was your cost per email? 14:15 How many emails do you need to make a sale? 15:00 How did you figure out if the business was going to fly based on this first week long test 16:50 Tell me about how to be successful on crowdfunding 19:04 How did succeeding with crowdfunding affect your company in the early stage 21:18 How did you end up raising $300K on the crowdfund? 23:30 Tell me about the product and what you have done to make it unique and memorable 24:58 What do your gross margins look like? 26:35 How much money did you raise? 27:17: How did you raise the money? 29:40 Why did you shy away from institutional money? Marketing Related 30:51 What is your YOY growth rate? 34:07 Why did you launch the throw blanket 34:50 How did you do the keyword research for search term frequency 35:30 Where are you getting most of your new customers? 37:29 What are you doing to engage in direct dialogue with your customers? 39:55 What is your best marketing activity? 40:20 What other activities do you do? 41:40 How many people do you have in the marketing department 45:19 What is your CAC? 47:08 Are you profitable on the first sale? 47:21 What is your AOV? Process Related 50:55 How much effort have you put into creating SOPs so far? link Resources: https://sheetsgiggles.com/ Show Notes: https://brightideas.co/colin-McIntosh-interview/

On the show with me today is Mark Daoust, founder of Quiet Light Brokerage and in today's interview, Mark and I spent about an hour discussing how to buy or sell an online business. Quiet Light is one of, if not the leading brokerage for online businesses, and Mark and his team have seen it all. Unfortunately, most buyers and sellers haven't, and as a result, they are often very poorly prepared to engage is such an important transaction. If you are thinking of buying a business and want to learn the right way to buy an online business - or you are thinking of selling yours - you are going to love all the knowledge bombs that Mark shares in this episode. The Questions I Asked Mark: Company Overview [04:29] What does your company sell? [08:10] What made you pick the niche you are in and how did you research it? [10:23] Tell me about the landing page you created [11:46] How did you do the targeting on Facebook? [13:00] How many emails did you capture? [14:20] What was your cost per email? [15:15] How many emails do you need to make a sale? [16:13] How did you figure out if the business was going to fly based on this first week long test [18:03] Tell me about how to be successful on crowdfunding [19:04] How did succeeding with crowdfunding affect your company in the early stage [22:31] How did you end up raising $300K on the crowdfund? [24:41] Tell me about the product and what you have done to make it unique and memorable [26:01] What do your gross margins look like? [27:48] How much money did you raise? [28:30] How did you raise the money? [30:53] Why did you shy away from institutional money? Marketing Related [32:02] What is your YOY growth rate? [33:07] Why did you launch the throw blanket [34:50] How did you do the keyword research for search term frequency [35:30] Where are you getting most of your new customers? [37:29] What are you doing to engage in direct dialogue with your customers? [39:55] What is your best marketing activity? [40:20] What other activities do you do? (SEO, Social, influencer marketing, paid traffic, etc...) [42:40] How many people do you have in the marketing department [46:32] What is your CAC? [48:08] Are you profitable on the first sale? [50:21] What is your AOV? Process Related [53:20] How much effort have you put into creating SOPs so far? 5 Quick Facts 1. What is your favorite business book? 2. What is your favorite online tool for growing your business? 3. Hours of work / week? 4. Family situation? Resource Links: https://www.quietlightbrokerage.com/ https://centurica.com www.ecommercelending.com/ https://amzn.to/2pMyi05 https://ahrefs.com www.marketmuse.com/ Show Notes: https://brightideas.co/mark-daoust-interview/

On the show with me today is Dave Chesson; the guy behind Kindlepreneur, a website devoted to teaching authors about book marketing. Recommended by Amazon KDP as the place where you can learn how to “optimize marketing for your books,” Kindlepreneur has grown to be one of the largest book marketing websites on the web....and when it comes to sharing best practices for book marketing, Dave did not disappoint.  If you have ever wondered about the feasability of writing business books, children's books, or fiction books of any kind for the Kindle platform, you are going to absolutely love today's interview! Questions I Asked Dave: Company Overview [04:30] When did you start? [08:30] What kind of book did you write? [10:20] How did you do keyword research for the book? [11:45] How long did it take your book to rank well on Amazon? [12:20] How big is your business today? [14:06] What are your favorite tools for the book writing process? [16:59] How do I find an editor and a cover designer? [18:03] Are there podcasts for kindle publishers? Marketing [18:56] Walk me through how you actually write a book? [19:16] When you are ready to publish a new book, what does your launch process look like? [24:53] How important are book reviews? [25:49] How can an author get an advanced reviews? [26:10] What does a book launch plan look like? [29:33] Are they any gray hat strategies for launching and ranking a book? [32:42] Do new book promotions work much the same way as they do for new physical products? [34:06] How do you get reviews for a book? [36:57] Should authors use King Sumo? [38:45] What are some of the strategies that authors should avoid? [39:47] How do Amazon book ads play a role and how do they differ from ads for physical products? People and Process [41:45] Tell me about the people on your team? [44:06] Should author's rely on SOPs? [45:04] Tell me about Dave Chesson's Top 10 5 Quick Facts 1. What is your favorite business book? 2. What is your favorite online tool for growing your business?  3. Hours of work / week? 4. Family situation? 5. What do you wish your younger self knew

On the show with me today is Agie Sihotang; founder of Indo Trading USA. Agie started his company back when he was 25, and since then, he's grown it into a multi-million dollar supplier of wholesale products for online sellers. Think Costco for Amazon sellers.  If you are a newer seller, or an existing seller looking for more products, this is an episode you are going to love! Questions I asked Agie: 1. What does your company do? 2. What made you pick this business model? 3. Who is your target market? 4. Tell me some effective ways for wholesalers to source products? 5. How do you predict an uptrend in sales? 6. Why is building relationships so important in wholesale? 7. What are some keywords people can use to find companies like yours? Resource Links: https://indotradingusa.com/ https://in.flowster.app/marketplace?category=Amazon-Specific Show Notes: https://brightideas.co/agie-sihotang-interview/

On the show with me today is Amana Bond; owner of The Ad Strategist and the creator of The StrADegy System. In her career, Amanda has been responsible for directly and indirectly spending millions of dollars on Facebook ads and in our conversation, she shares with me how one of her clients used Facebook ads to help them sell $1.5 million worth of a daily planner. Questions I asked Amanda: 1. Who are you and what do you do? 2. You said fb ads are dead: wtf? 3. How does Facebook ROAS compare to Google shopping? 4. Tell me about the campaigns you create for the company that sells the daily planner? 5. What did the launch look like? 6. What other assets did they use to assist in driving traffic? 7. Did split testing play a role? 8. What types of ads did they run? 9. How did retargeting play a role? 10. Tell me about the systems you have developed to make this a repeatable process? 11. Can you tell me about some of the biggest mistakes/lessons learned along the way? Resource Links: http://theadstrategist.com https://in.flowster.app/marketplace?category=Amazon-Specific Show Notes: http://brightideas.co/amanda-bond-interview

On the show with me today is Warren Carter.  Warren Carter is a serial entrepreneur and his favorite sales story came from his 12-year run with his voicemail company. In 1989 he jotted a short script which included the standard sales line of “What’s the best day for you, Tuesday or Thursday?” He picked up the phone, dialed the number of a billion-dollar corporation and asked to speak to the President. That phone call led to an appointment the following Thursday which led to the addition of 300,000 subscribers, worth over $60 million. That call taught Warren to be fearless in picking up the phone to call prospects. These days Warren is focused on leveraging the sales skills that he's accumulated over his career to grow his recently launched Amazon wholesale business. If you aspired to build your own ecommerce brand and are looking for actionable tactics and strategies, this is the interview for you. Questions I asked Warren: 1. What was you revenue over the prior 30 days? 2. Tell me when you got started selling on Amazon? 3. Why did you start selling on Amazon? 4. Tell me about your business model?  5. How did you find your first 10 products? 6. How many emails do you send in your first campaign? 7. How many got opened? 8. How many replied? 9. How many accounts did you win from this send? 10. Did you pick a category in advance?  11. How did you overcome the objection "we don't want any more Amazon sellers" 12. What plans do you have for the future of your business? 13. What advice would you give someone who wants to get into this business?  Resources links: http://brightideas.co/amazon-sops Shownotes: http://brightideas.co/warren-carter-interview